A Confused Taxi Driver!

Four evenings a week, from Monday to Thursday I leave the Berlitz office in Chaoyang District and hail a cab to take me on a forty to forty five minute drive, to a hi tech company on the other side of the city, on the outskirts of the fourth ring road. This particular evening was much the same as any other and I had left myself plenty of time to get there (my days of being late largely modified).

Without too much difficulty, I hailed a cab, gave the area of where I wished to go and settled myself down in the back seat, opening my engrossing detective story to whittle away the time.
After about twelve minutes, the taxi came to a halt and I only raised my eyes to see what was the problem, as I heard the driver close the fare on the meter. His face turned around to mine, looked expectantly for his fare.

As I glanced out of the window, I realised that I was now in a place that I had never been to before, had now idea where I was and was expected to vacate the cab and pay the fare. I tried first in a reasonable voice, with hand gestures and repeatedly stating my destination to explain that this was not the place I wanted and even though he kept repeating the name of the place back to me, nodding his head in expression that I was the one making the error, we were getting nowhere!

So, I went ballistic, started swearing away at him in a non native language, calling him an incompetent idiot, cursing all taxi drivers especially those in Beijing that could not speak 'the universal lingo' opened the cab door, shook my fist and head at the meter, in a gesture of refusal to pay the 10 yuan (about 5 nis) and told the 'wanna be' new passenger in english that he was
entering the cab at his own risk, as the driver was a total non knowledgeable driver!

I then ran frantically from corner to corner of the street, trying in vain to hail a new cab, knowing that this fiasco was now possibly to cause my lateness of arriving at my destination on time!
Almost in tears of frustration, I finally managed to hail a 'don't want to take you driver' (common in Beijing) and only after gesturing with my telephone to his licence number and pretending to dial his company, did he reluctantly allow me to enter his cab.

Now we were stuck in the most unmoving traffic that I have been in for a long time, but as I had
no power over the matter, sat back and nibbled my already shortened nails. Eventually, we managed to drive onto the familiar highway and I reopened my engrossing detective thriller and settled down for the rest of the drive. As we neared my correct destination, I closed the book somewhat reluctantly and gave the final instructions on how to reach my place of teaching.

It was only some few days later, that I recalled this incident and it suddenly dawned on me what had happened. I had told the drive Wanfujing instead of Wanjing!, he of course had taken me to
the correct destination as per to what I had said!! I had cause not only to be ashamed of my mistake, but remembered too that I had refused to pay the fare!

Now I pause to wonder, if the difficulties that I have been having lately in securing a cab, is not because that particular driver has not posted a bulletin about me to all fellow cabbies, issuing a warning, take that crazy woman at your own peril!